AHC: Make North Korea be Best Korea

With a PoD not before 1950, make North Korea be a lot vetter than her southern neighbour. South Korea must, obviously still exist, so no United Korea scenarios.
 
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Along with South Korea staying how it was under Rhee, Kim il-Sung takes a governing path more along the lines of Ho Chi Minh.
 
Because of Soviet aid propping up things and North Korea having the preexisting industrial base left behind by the Japanese.

There was not that much industrial base left after the American bombings during the Korean War. Also, Japan industrializing Korea is a myth set up by Japanese imperialists.
 
After Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, Kim Jong Il is disposed of by the military and the replaced with a normal dictatorship/communist regime. They follow the Chinese/Vietnamese lead. The Asia Crisis in 1997/1998 is worse and North Korea catches up/takes business away from the South Koreans.
 
I remember a TL when Kim il-Sung dies before the Korean War. A much bigger leadership takes over and they no Koran War. South Korea trys to start one, but the US would take no part in it, and the plan fails

As SK goes under a even wrost time under Rhee, NK grows and is far better.
 
There was not that much industrial base left after the American bombings during the Korean War. Also, Japan industrializing Korea is a myth set up by Japanese imperialists.

Soviet aid helped rebuild it, and thanks to the preexisting pool of skilled workers, it was set up quickeer.

Granted, Japan didn't industrialize northern Korea to post-Korean War levels, but several major industries were located there.
 
kim il-sung is replaced after a much shorter korea war,the new leadership is much mellower and the country stays somewhat sane. south korea stays a poor,corrupt dictatorship.
 
There are a few ways:

1.) While Kim Il-sung is on a visit to Moscow in 1956 or '57, some more reform-minded segments of the WPK move to sideline the Kim Dynasty. Inspired by Khrushchev's secret speech, they move to a policy of de-Kimization. Something similar could still happen at a later point, but the initial wave of de-Stalinization is likely the best chance for such a course to develop.

2.) Soviet economic fortunes don't fall into stagnation and decline going into the 70s and 80s. This'll require some major changes to how the Soviet system is operated, allowing for better industrial modernization at the time and a greater concern for consumer goods. A spillover effect would be the continued growth of North Korea's economy, assuming they don't default on Soviet debts. As a result, North Korea still remains ahead of the South in its living standards.

3.) Try and mimic what China did post-Mao by attracting capitalist investment. This is probably the hardest scenario to pull off successfully, since any move by the US (or other capitalist countries) to loosen its relations with NK would potentially piss off the South and jeopardize the trust of a key regional ally.

4.) Or maybe an alternate post-Mao PRC sees an Eastern bloc like the one mentioned in scenario 2 and decides to start Sino-Soviet rapprochement. North Korea is thus positioned to reap the rewards of such a development.

5.) tying into point 1, North Korea develops a stronger and more well-exported pop culture than the South. That'd require a less censorious DPRK alongside an ROK that still maintains Park Chung-hee levels of censorship. "We cannot allow a K-pop gap!"

I think the first scenario might be a prerequisite for the other four.
 

Delta Force

Banned
North Korea was Korea's economic powerhose until the 70s/80s when the south catched up and left the north way behind.

Throw DPRK took out loans from the West to purchase machinery to produce goods for export, but those plans fell through due to the energy crises. It defaulted on the loans in the early 1980s and then really began pushing for Juche, especially after the Soviets decided they would rather recognize the RoK and gain new markets and access to hard currency instead of keep paying to subsidize the DPRK.
 

Delta Force

Banned
There was not that much industrial base left after the American bombings during the Korean War. Also, Japan industrializing Korea is a myth set up by Japanese imperialists.

The Japanese built an extensive hydroelectricity system in the DPRK that evolved into one of the most reliable electricity systems in Asia by the early 1980s. The DPRK even electrified its extensive railway system. When petroleum prices started rising in the 1980s and countries started demanding hard currency as payment the DPRK was left unable to import sufficient quantities, leading to difficulties in agriculture, mining, industry, and power production. The floods of the 1990s impacted a lot of mines, and led to the collapse of the central power grid and contributed to the famines and other issues that plagued the DPRK during that decade.
 
I think the DPRK was a highly developed country until the 90s, so they need to avoid isolation and give up planned economy. If the Kim-clan manages the transition to capitalism without loosing power, North Korea can become a major economic power while staying under the domination of the KWP and the Kim-family.
 
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